Vehicle seat



Dec. 7, 1965 D. STOU 3,222,106

VEHICLE SEAT Filed Oct. '7, 1963 INVENTOR. 2/7/2211 flay/0s SfoufATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,222,106 VEHICLE SEAT William DouglasStout, Warren, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit,Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 314,366 1Claim. (Cl. 297332) This invention relates to a vehicle seat and moreparticularly to a folding easy entrance automobile seat.

With the increased usage of the modern sports car or compact vehicle,the entrance into and exit from the small cars has presented a problemto the average individual because of the limited leg room for entrancein the usual manner.

It is an object of this invention to provide a folding easy entranceseat for use in a sports car or a compact vehicle.

Another object of this invention is to provide a twopiece seat cushionfor a sports car which is movable between a seat forming position and aneasy entrance position for ease of entering and leaving the vehicle.

Another object of this invention is to provide linkage means for atwo-part seat cushion for use in a sports car which will support theseat cushion in the seat forming position and in an easy entranceposition and during movement between such positions.

Another object of this invention is to provide assist means for biasingthe supporting linkages and moving a two-part seat from its seat formingposition to an easy entrance position for ease in moving such a seatwithin a compact car.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent asreference is had to the accompanying specification and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle body, with sections cutaway, showing a vehicle seat utilizing the present invention in the easyentrance position.

FIGURE 2 is a view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1showing a side view of the vehicle seat with the two-part seat cushionshown in the easy entrance position and, in phantom lines, in the seatforming position.

FIGURE 3 is a view taken substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 2showing the location and manner in which the assist torque rods andlinkages are secured to the seat bottom and floor plate.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the seat cushion in the easy entranceposition, with sections broken away, showing the manner in which thelinkages and rear seat pan are secured to the vehicle floor plate.

Referring now to the drawings, as best seen in FIG- URES 1 and 2, a pairof vehicle seat assemblies are supported on the floor 12 of a vehiclebody 14. Since the seat assemblies are identical, only the drivers seatwill be described.

The seat assembly 10 has a head rest 16 and a seat back unit or cushion18 forming the back support and a twopart seat unit consisting of thefront cushion 20 and the rear cushion 22 forming the seat support. Theseat cushions 20 and 22 are movable between the easy entrance position,as shown in FIGURE 1 and as seen in solid lines of FIGURE 2, and theseat forming position, as shown in phantom lines of FIGURE 2. In theseat forming position, the cushions 20 and 22 are juxtaposed in anextended substantially horizontal plane with an edge of each cushion inclose proximity to an edge of the other cushion. In the easy entranceposition the front cushion 20 is in a substantially horizontal positionabove and to the rear of its seat forming position and the rear cushion3,222,106 Patented Dec. 7, 1965 22 is rotated to a substantiallyvertical plane beneath the front cushion 20 and adjacent the seat backcushion 18.

The seat cushions 20 and 22 are secured to and supported on seat panmembers 24, 26, respectively. The pan 26 for the rear seat cushion 22has a pair of flanges 28 formed at right angles to the seat pan andextending along the side of the seat cushion 22. A floor plate 30 issecured to the vehicle floor 12 by bolts or other suitable means. A pairof support arms 32 are welded to the plate 30 and pivotally connected tothe flanges 28 by rivets 34 for pivotally supporting the rear seatcushion 22 for movement between the seat forming position and the easyentrance position. The seat pan 26 is pivotally secured to seat pan 24by a hinge 36 which extends the width of the seat pans. The hinge 36effectively joins the seat pans 24 and 26 and supports the adjacentedges of the cushions 20, 22 in seat forming position. The pan 26 alsosupports one edge of cushion 20 in easy entrance position.

As best seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, a pair of L-shaped torque rods 38 haveone end anchored against movement to the plate 30 by anchor brackets 40and the other ends of the torque rods are secured in a coupling 42 whichis pivotally secured to the seat pan 24 by a bracket 44 and bolt 46. Thetorque rods 38 are supported between the anchor bracket 40 and thecoupling 42 by a pair of support brackets 47 secured to plate 30. Thetorque rods also pass through and are supported in an aperture 49 insupport arms 32. The torque rods 38 are anchored so that the seatcushions 20 and 22 are biased to the easy entrance position. A pair ofL-shaped support link members 48, made of T-channel, have one endpivotally conv nected to the seat pan 24 by brackets 50 and bolts 52.

The other ends of the support members 48 are pivotally secured to theplate 30 by brackets 54 with the torque rods 38 acting as pintles forthe pivotal connection thereto.

The support links 48 are adapted to contact the floor 12 in seat formingposition and to contact bracket 50 in easy entrance position to supportthe front seat cushion 20 in the respective positions.

In operation, the seat cushions 20 and 22 are normally in the easyentrance position, as shown in solid lines of FIGURE 2. As viewed inFIGURE 2, the torque rods 38 exert a clockwise force relative to theiraxis extending etween anchor bracket 40 and bracket 47, through thecoupling 42 to the seat cushions 20 and 22, biasing them to the easyentrance position. To move the cushions 20 and 22 to the seat formingposition, as shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 2, the occupant is seatedon cushion 20 and exerts a forward and downward pressure on the seatcushion 20 by pushing against the seat back 18 and allowing his weightto settle on the cushion 20. These forces will cause the seat cushion 20to rotate forwardly and downwardly, resiliently plastically deformingthe torque rods 38 and moving the seat unit to the seat formingposition, shown in phantom lines of FIGURE 2. Such movement of seatcushion 20 is accompanied by a counterclockwise rotation of seat cushion22 about its pivot rivet 34 to the seat forming position by the forceexerted on the seat pan 26 through the hinge 36. During the movementfrom the easy entrance position to the seat forming position, theoccupants legs will be extended forwardly and downwardly beneath thesteering wheel 56 shown in FIG- URE 1.

To leave the vehicle, the occupant supports part of his weight onadjacent portions of the vehicle body and assisted by the stressedtorque rods moves the seat to its easy entrance position.

While but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustratedand explained it is obvious that numerous modifications are possiblewithin the scope of this invention as defined by the following claim.

I claim:

A seat assembly having a seat back unit and a movable seat unit, saidseat unit comprising a first member and a second member, said membershaving a juxtaposed seat forming position and a folded easy entranceposition and being movable therebetween, support means for said seatunit including a plate adapted to be supported on a supporting floor, asupport link having one end pivotally connected to said first member andthe other end pivotally connected to said plate for supporting saidfirst member 10 in said positions and for controlling movementtherebetween, a pivotal connection between said second member and saidplate for supporting said second member in said positions and permittingrotative movement therebetween, a hinge connection between said membersfor controlling movement of said members relative to each other, and atorque rod for biasing said members to said easy entrance position, saidtorque rod having a fixed end secured to said plate and a movable armconnected to said seat unit whereby movement of said seat unit from easyentrance position increases the plastic deformation of said torque rod.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 487,876 12/1892Jenson 297--334 1,361,446 12/1920 Conner et al 297233 1,509,863 9/1924Erickson 297-334 2,078,961 5/1937 Meltzer 297331 2,338,814 1/1944 Jones297-63 2,780,276 2/1957 Valente 297338 2,797,732 7/ 1957 Thomas 248373FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

